As part of my role as a PESS intern, I was tasked with assisting “Project REACH”, with a focus on data analysis from a survey designed and disseminated last year.
As a student coming out of 3rd year on the BSc. Physical Education programme, my only experience with research thus far has been a module preparing for my final year project. I was thrilled with the opportunity and first impressions did not disappoint, with the internship proving to be challenging, informative and rewarding.
Project REACH is a project that has been developed over the last number of years with the goal of incorporating resistance training into the Irish secondary school curriculum. With research in the likes of Australia (RT4Teens) proving that resistance training can and should be incorporated into second level environments, this project really spoke to my aspirational side, as resistance training has always been an area of passion for myself since I first discovered it as a secondary school student. The idea of helping future generations of Irish teenagers to become better educated in regard to free weights, machine-based exercise, bodyweight exercises, resistance band training and holistic exercise acted as a calling for me to pursue this internship.
The first few weeks of the internship proved challenging, with my first real experience of data analysis and quantitative data forcing me to work on my feet. I had to push myself, learning about Excel and its intricacies as well as SPSS, which I have not had much experience with. This first period proved to be the most valuable learning experience of my time in college so far. I have always had an interest in research, and I found that getting a first-hand insight into how data is collated, analysed, and distributed really opened my eyes to the hours of work behind each line of every published research paper.
One of the biggest benefits of the internship for myself was putting myself out there in the PESS building. While it was admittedly quieter during the summer period, getting to conversate and learn from the faculty was inspirational. In particular, I must thank project heads Brendan O’Keeffe and Elaine Murtagh, both of whom took time from their days to assist me along the way. I took every opportunity I could to ask questions and to listen to their advice which sped up my progression and gave me a clear path towards success. This kept me aligned to my purpose and focused on the key outcomes of the internship.
As a result of my internship, I not only got to assist in a project for which I have a massive passion for, I also got the opportunity to develop and grow my interest in research. Through my work, I have been selected for an extended internship assisting with the ASF (Active Schools Flag) programme, which is incredibly rewarding. On top of this, I have gained a real interest in the idea of doing a masters or PhD straight after college, which was an alien idea to me before this internship. I really have enjoyed my time as a PESS intern, and I am looking forward to seeing what the future brings in my pursuit of the world of research. I would recommend the PESS internship scheme to any student on the fence as it not only acts as a concrete expression of interest in research on a CV, it also allows you to network and discover where your niche may lie. If you have an interest in any of the key research themes in PESS, there is a great selection of internships to choose from each year and I will definitely be applying for next year’s summer internship when the time comes!
Contact: Email: 20272251@studentmail.ul.ie ORCID @darraghcollinspt
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